The present invention relates to adjustable rearview mirror mounts, and more particularly relates to a ball-and-socket connection on a mirror mount that facilitates assembly.
Most modern vehicle rearview mirrors include a ball-and-socket connection that permits angular adjustment of the mirrors for optimal rear viewing, based on the driver's physical size and individual preferences. The torsional friction generated in the ball-and-socket connections are critical for several reasons, including the need to maintain at least a minimum force of adjustment sufficient to hold a selected angular position, including the need to provide a smooth feel during adjustment so that the customer believes it to be a high-quality mirror, and including the need to stay within an expected range of force of adjustment so that all vehicle drivers are able to make adjustments relatively easily. Also, the force of adjustment must be maintained within the range for the life of the vehicle, despite wear and creeping of materials.
In order to closely control the force of adjustment, many current mirror mount designs require that the ball mount be preassembled to the mirror head (i.e. the mirror housing and components attached to the housing) prior to assembly of the mirror head itself. Preassembly of mounts is commonplace as a way of maintaining tight control over the components that result in the torsional friction of the ball-and-socket connections. However, preassembly of mounts is not a desirable situation, since the mounts and mirror housings include visible surfaces that can be scratched or damaged during subsequent assembly operations. Further, mirrors with preassembled mounts are more difficult to densely package and ship than mirror heads without mounts, since preassembled mounts extend in cantilever a distance from the mirror heads and take up space. It would be preferable to assemble mounts to the mirror at a location closer to the vehicle assembly plant. However, this cannot be done while risking a loss of tight control over the friction of the ball-and-socket connection. Still further, it is desirable to provide a mount construction that is flexible in design so that it can use existing technologies and materials, and so that it does not require the need for higher precision equipment for holding even tighter and more difficult-to-hold dimensional tolerances than already exist. It is also desirable not to add additional parts and cost to the assembly, nor to the ball-and-socket connection itself.
Another concern is energy absorption and distribution of energy by the mirror and mount combination during a vehicle crash. It is desirable to provide a mirror and mount assembly that not only does not pose a potential harm to vehicle occupants during a vehicle crash, but further that actually assists in absorbing energy and at the same time helps reduce any possibility of injury to a vehicle occupant. Also, the mirror and mount combination must not cause potential warranty problems associated with a loose or non-uniformly operating ball-and-socket connection, or that loses its strength over time due to creeping of materials and wear.
Accordingly, an apparatus is desired having the aforementioned advantages and solving the aforementioned problems.